Getting your first set of contact lenses would desire a tremendous upgrade to eyeglasses. you'll see the planet more clearly just by popping them in and you'd look good too! they will slot in easily onto the attention and permit you to perform numerous tasks which may be uncomfortable in glasses like traveling, exercising, etc.
However, if you are doing not use contact lenses properly, you'll be exposed to some side effects which could even affect your vision within the end of the day .
8 Risks and Side Effects of Using Contact Lenses
1. Blockage of Oxygen Supply to the Eyes
Since contact lenses lie directly on the attention and canopy the whole cornea, the quantity of oxygen reaching your eyes will decrease. Good oxygen supply is completely critical to stay the eyes healthy.
Choose soft or silicone hydrogel lenses as they transmit more oxygen than the traditional soft contact materials. they're going to even be better for your eyes within the end of the day . Avoid wearing contact lenses for long hours at a stretch.
2. Dry Eyes
Contact lens reduces the number of tears aged the cornea as they absorb most of our tears to stay itself soft. This lack of tears causes dry eye syndrome resulting in itchiness, burning sensation and redness of the eyes. If the eyes get too dry, it'll cause the scarring of the cornea which may be extremely painful.
If you suffer from chronic eye dryness, use eyedrops to lubricate the eyes to supply some relief to them.
3. Irritation when Combined with Medication, especially contraception Pill
Concurrent use of contraceptive pills and get in touch with lens together will end in chronic dry eyes and irritation. you'll experience changes within the tear film, which primarily consists of three main layers which close to guard , bathe and nourish the attention surface.
The combination of contraception pills and get in touch with lenses will upset this balance within the tear film and cause excessive tearing, burning eyes and a gritty foreign body sensation within the eye. The restricted flow of oxygen to the attention will aggravate the condition.
Avoid using lenses as long as you're on the pill.
4. Diminished Corneal Reflex
Using contact lenses may cause diminished corneal reflex within the eye. Corneal reflex may be a protective mechanism of the attention where the brain signals the eyelids to sink to guard our eyes whenever the slightest amount of pressure is applied to the cornea. Corneal reflex makes sure that we close our eyes if something may cause an immediate trauma to them, sort of a flying object coming towards our eyes or if someone tries to poke us.
When you use contact lenses constantly, you teach your body to ignore the natural corneal reflex. this might dull the eye’s response to corneal reflex, which could lead on to the attention being damaged if you can’t shut your eyes fast enough just in case of danger.
Keep the usage of the lenses to a minimum. Use glasses once you are reception to make sure that corneal reflex isn’t diminished an excessive amount of by constant use.
5. Corneal Abrasion
There is an opportunity of the contact lenses scratching your cornea, causing corneal abrasion if they're not fitted properly or when your eyes are too dry.
Never roll in the hay contact lenses in because the risk of abrasion will increase. The lenses will trap particles like dirt and sand and rub against your cornea. These abrasions will create a gap for bacteria and virus to seep through and provides birth to eye infections, which may end in loss of vision too.
You may even scratch your cornea once you insert or extract contact lenses carelessly. make sure that you fit the lenses carefully and you never sleep in them.
6. Red Eye or Conjunctivitis
There will be a high risk of conjunctivitis and stye if you wear contact lenses for long hours at a stretch, especially through the night. they supply a moist environment which acts as a possible tract for microorganisms like viruses and bacteria. Additionally, since less oxygen reaches the cornea once you wear lenses, the body doesn’t repel an infection that's caused by bacteria or viruses as effectively because it should.
Giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC) is that the commonest sort of conjunctivitis that contact wearers get thanks to repeated irritation from the contact lenses.
Always, always, always remove your contact before sleeping.
7. Ptosis
Ptosis may be a condition where the eyelids start drooling and therefore the affected individuals are unable to open their eyes fully.
If you employ contact lenses, they'll enter the eyelid tissues causing scarring and contraction, which further results in a lid retraction. This especially holds true for hard contact wearers because the eyelid is repeatedly stretched during lens removal.
Switching to soft contact lenses would be an honest idea.
8. Corneal Ulcer
This occurs when an open sore caused by fungus, bacteria, parasite infection or viruses is made within the eye’s cornea. A corneal ulcer can cause permanent blindness if it's not treated quickly. If it does cause blindness, a keratoplasty will probably be the sole thanks to restore vision.
Preventing Side Effects Caused by contact
Do not over-wear your contact lenses and discard/replace them as directed by the doctor. Remember that lens deposits will still build abreast of your contact lenses over a period of your time . The longer you go without replacing the lenses, the more are going to be the lens deposits — this may reduce the oxygen supply to the corneas, eventually damaging the eyes.
Do not miss your routine contact eye exams. Being regular with the check-ups will help your ophthalmologist detect problems caused by the contact within the early stages and stop them from getting serious by supplying you with timely treatment.
If your current contact lenses are uncomfortable, try changing them or get an updated prescription. this may help in relieving contact irritation. Moreover, you'll consider LASIK as a permanent solution to contact discomfort.